Perfect Miles Davis Collection

[Shawn]

I wonder what the sales figures are like on these sets? I can't think of too many "newbies" who gravitate toward a 20 album collection of a single artist.

[mjzee]

Perfectly timed for Christmas giving.

[B. Clugston]

Most young 'uns that I know who are getting into Miles are doing so through second hand vinyl.

[GA Russell]

I suspect that Sony is doing what it can to get these recordings into the consumers' hands before they go into public domain in Europe.

We could re-word that to say Sony is trying to get as many dollars as they can before Euro PD sets in.

I've got no objection to that when they are pricing their music at less than $3.00 a CD.

The whole concept of copyright, that ownership be for a limited time, spurs the copyright owner to use it or lose it. I think that's a good thing. In my view, there are far too many books and records out of print under copyright for years to come in the US. Let's get it out there.

[djcavanagh]

We could re-word that to say Sony is trying to get as many dollars as they can before Euro PD sets in.

His estate will still profit though won't they? If so I'd rather the money went to the estate and Sony than to someone in Andorra.

[Chuck Nessa]

We could re-word that to say Sony is trying to get as many dollars as they can before Euro PD sets in.

His estate will still profit though won't they? If so I'd rather the money went to the estate and Sony than to someone in Andorra.

Sony/Columbia is contractually obligated to pay artist royalties to the estate. Euro zone PD labels have no such obligation - so you are correct.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Chuck Nessa

[Rooster_Ties]

I wonder which 20 albums they picked?

[Quincy]

I wonder which 20 albums they picked?

I can make the following on the box:

'Round About Midnight

Miles Ahead

Porgy & Bess

Kind Of Blue

Sketches Of Spain

Someday My Prince Will Come

7 Steps To Heaven

Miles In Berlin

Miles Smiles

Nefertiti

In A Silent Way

Bitches Brew

Jack Johnson

On The Corner

We Want Miles

Decoy

Star People

I'm pretty sure I see (to the left of Porgy):

E.S.P.

I would E.S.P. would be in such a set!

I'm stumped at the cover that has white & red on it below 'Round Midnight. Maybe it's Miles Plays For Cocaine Lovers?

I don't know if they're counting discs or albums for their perfect box. I've listed 19 covers (including the one I can't make out) in the above. I don't see Milestones on the box which is a little surprising, but I guess something has to go if you want some post-retirement representation. It could be pictured on another side I suppose, or some other album.

[A Lark Ascending]

In my view, there are far too many books and records out of print under copyright for years to come in the US. Let's get it out there.

But these 20 albums are far from OOP. You can buy them as individual albums. As at least two huge box sets. Many are available in those 3 in a sleeve sets. Sony has plenty of other music which is not in print.

Quite. I suspect it's going to be most attractive to someone well on the slippery slope to becoming a jazz obsessive who does not yet have many of these discs.

I've not read this but suspect the Sony marketing strategies would fit within its thesis:

And it's not just 'pop' that is addicted to its own past. I have to put my hand up to listening mainly to music produced somewhere between 1000 AD and 1976!

Edited August 24, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[A Lark Ascending]

('Classics with a Beat'...I'm sure there were loads of these (a version of Mozart 40 made the singles charts) but can't find many covers on Google. Clearly a cultural phenomena that has been soundly excised from history).

At least we've not had a 'classics with a techno-beat' fad...though I do recall hearing a version of the Barber Adagio with a drum machine thumping out the beat.

Ah yes, Hooked on Classics ...

Which is probably just an ancestor to this LP:

To be fair, one of my favorite LPs from my Dad's collection was some kind of reworked Scarlatti session -- not quite rock but certainly not an accurate period piece. It had these two serving wenches on the cover. It looked a fair bit like this "Love Scarlatti" LP but it was some other album. Wonder if I'll ever track that down.

I have a feeling 'Hooked on Classics' was early 80s.

This was the stuff that caught on in the early 70s:

The Walter Carlos album was around that time too.

I think the 'Classics with a Beat' album was a budget label cash-in on the brief craze. I recall James Last did some of this too. I spent some time in Germany in the early to mid-70s and he was huge then.

Edited August 24, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[crisp]

I can't believe this perfectly legitimate set of albums is being equated with Hooked on Classics!

OK, it's of no use to any of us on here, but djcavanagh is right, it's aimed at newcomers, and I couldn't be more pleased for them -- it's a great, inexpensive set, much better than the terrible Columbia Masterworks and Compact Jazz comps that I had to put up with in the Nineties.

The classical doorsteps have no appeal at all.

Most "complete" classical boxed sets, much like this set, are card sleeves in a clamshell. Hardly doorsteps, or even doorstops. A 10-disc set takes up less space than 4 individually packed CDs.

I'm guilty of buying (downloading these days) several discs at once of a current craze; but generally, I like the one at a time approach. There's something of a 'One-Stop-Shop-To-Being-Cultured' about these 'complete Mozart' things.

Horses for courses, but I find boxed sets of CDs cheaper than downloads, better sounding than downloads and take up so little space that a download is unnecessary. If I want it on my computer (and I don't), I'll upload it. As for "one-stop shop", I love it. Buying chunks of Mozart's works is a great way to get into this music because you don't just buy the works you want, but also the works you don't realise you want, at no extra cost.

Oh, I'm far from suggesting people follow the same path I did. It would be impossible - most of the catalogue was OOP then. Much had to be acquired on imports on rare visits to London. Very different today when, in the case of a huge icon like Miles Davis, nearly everything (and more) is available.

And things have deteriorated how exactly?

I'm all for encouraging as wide a body of people as possible to hear this music. But something like ESP, for example, is out there for around a fiver. A pretty inexpensive way to dip your toe in the water.

If Quincy (above) is correct, you can get ESP for £2 as part of this set. If I had £50 and no Miles Davis I know which way I'd go.

Bev, I hope I'm not having a go at you here -- you have your way of doing things and others have theirs -- but the release of this boxed set subtracts nothing from anyone else's collecting experience and will probably draw in many new fans. I agree that Sony should be supporting new music and reissuing more obscure past releases, but we all know that's difficult right now -- the industry is weathering the storm. Let's just be glad that there is still a market for classic jazz and that some of our old favourites are still out there to be discovered by new fans.

[mjzee]

I wonder which 20 albums they picked?

I'm stumped at the cover that has white & red on it below 'Round Midnight. Maybe it's Miles Plays For Cocaine Lovers?

I believe it's '58 Sessions (On Green Dolphin Street, Fran Dance, Stella By Starlight, Love For Sale, Straight No Chaser, My Funny Valentine, Oleo). They use a Japanese cover. I have it as part of the Original Album Classics 5-fer.

[A Lark Ascending]

Bev, I hope I'm not having a go at you here -- you have your way of doing things and others have theirs -- but the release of this boxed set subtracts nothing from anyone else's collecting experience and will probably draw in many new fans. I agree that Sony should be supporting new music and reissuing more obscure past releases, but we all know that's difficult right now -- the industry is weathering the storm. Let's just be glad that there is still a market for classic jazz and that some of our old favourites are still out there to be discovered by new fans.

It's more of a general mild irritation with this sort of thing happening industry wide than something specific to this release. An increasing focus of what is often the same material re-emerging in boutique sets. But if the market is there...

But to be fair to Sony, they are alongside releasing some unfamiliar live material (the Bootleg series)at a very reasonable price.

And things have deteriorated how exactly?

In no way at all. It has never been easier to acquire the music that interests you, never been cheaper to take a chance on the unfamiliar.

Edited August 24, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[crisp]

I wonder if it's just the Miles Davis name that acts as a red rag in these situations. The thread on the equally done-to-death Coltrane boxes over in the Reissues forum isn't generating nearly as much opprobrium. In fact, the comments are very positive, and those Coltrane boxes aren't nearly as good as this one.

[Quincy]

I'm stumped at the cover that has white & red on it below 'Round Midnight. Maybe it's Miles Plays For Cocaine Lovers?

I believe it's '58 Sessions (On Green Dolphin Street, Fran Dance, Stella By Starlight, Love For Sale, Straight No Chaser, My Funny Valentine, Oleo). They use a Japanese cover. I have it as part of the Original Album Classics 5-fer.

Thank you! I only know it by the old "pre-remaster" era US Columbia cover.

[A Lark Ascending]

I wonder if it's just the Miles Davis name that acts as a red rag in these situations. The thread on the equally done-to-death Coltrane boxes over in the Reissues forum isn't generating nearly as much opprobrium. In fact, the comments are very positive, and those Coltrane boxes aren't nearly as good as this one.

In my experience many people who have little or no experience of jazz have heard of Miles Davis - he's a visual icon as well as a musical one. Coltrane may loom large amongst those familiar with jazz and was a name those of us outside the jazz world had heard of 40 years ago but I don't think he's nearly as well known today.

Miles Davis is a 'brand' that clearly can be resold to a wide audience in many different ways (no intention to disparage the music or musical achievement of the man there).

Has anyone thought of making a chocolate ball confectionery with the Davis brand? Works wonders in Salzburg.

[ejp626]

I wonder if it's just the Miles Davis name that acts as a red rag in these situations. The thread on the equally done-to-death Coltrane boxes over in the Reissues forum isn't generating nearly as much opprobrium. In fact, the comments are very positive, and those Coltrane boxes aren't nearly as good as this one.

In my experience many people who have little or no experience of jazz have heard of Miles Davis - he's a visual icon as well as a musical one. Coltrane may loom large amongst those familiar with jazz and was a name those of us outside the jazz world had heard of 40 years ago but I don't think he's nearly as well known today.

...

I think the other issue is that I wouldn't say Coltrane has been done to death to quite the same extent as Miles. There was no absolutely complete box set (in a saxophone case, natch) a few months prior to this. I may be wrong, but aside from the original Impulse releases (nearly all of which are in print) and some compilations like the Impulse Story and best-ofs, this is the first time around for Impulse box sets for some of the material (the later albums). It is true that The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse box set covered the earlier albums, making this more like the second go-around. But still this strikes me as different from the many, many remasterings and repackagings of the Davis Columbia material.

[A Lark Ascending]

Interesting to also compare Ornette Coleman, a figure of comparable musical/historical significance to Davis and Coltrane.

One superb box of the Atlantics for the committed enthusiast. Most (I'm not sure about all) the key discs available individually from that era. One or two single disc compilations, perhaps.

But then Coleman is never going to be a 'brand' outside the jazz world. And even there he's far from having universal appeal.

Edited August 24, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[Quincy]

But then Coleman is never going to be a 'brand' outside the jazz world. And even there he's far from having universal appeal.

I've known a couple of people who were slow to investigate him because of the critical remarks from Miles about him. Some people take that "enemy of my friend" thing too far.

[sidewinder]

I personally find it thoroughly excellent that we can currently buy a 66 CD 'big box' with the 'Complete' Miles Columbia - or alternatively for those 'dabbling' just the 20CD 'highlights' version. When I think of the sheer all-out hassle of soucing even 1/4 of these albums on vinyl on half-way decent pressings back in the day (usually from Holland, Italy, Germany) I realise that we are truly spoiled these days.

[A Lark Ascending]

Well, if it's a stark choice between having the music unavailable (or most of it only intermittently available as in the 70s) or the current multiple format availability, then I too think the current situation is preferable.

But it's not necessarily that stark.

[king ubu]

I'm stumped at the cover that has white & red on it below 'Round Midnight. Maybe it's Miles Plays For Cocaine Lovers?

I believe it's '58 Sessions (On Green Dolphin Street, Fran Dance, Stella By Starlight, Love For Sale, Straight No Chaser, My Funny Valentine, Oleo). They use a Japanese cover. I have it as part of the Original Album Classics 5-fer.

Thank you! I only know it by the old "pre-remaster" era US Columbia cover.

That album was originally called "Jazz Track". One side had the US release of the soundtrack to Louis Malle's "L'ascenseur pour l'echafaud" while the other side had the '58 session minus it's highlight, "Love for Sale" (that track was later included on one of the albums Columbia put out during one of Miles' hiat... what's the plural there? Hiati? Hitachi? Hiatuses?)

large images including liners on discogs.com:

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=511939

[mjzee]

Here's the front and back cover for '58 Sessions (baffling cover, really):

[JSngry]

I don't know if I've got the perfect Miles Davis collection (or even a perfect Miles Davis collection), but I've got all this stuff and a lot more, so...good for me, and good for everybody else who can say the same. I think we've all got more perfect Miles Davis collections than what is being sold as such.

It really is time for a new language...

[GA Russell]

I've never had any desire to get We Want Miles, Decoy or Star People. Am I missing anything?